When The Sand Crumbles
by Redcloudangel
Summary: One's cursed to void love. One's cursed to claim love. When Gaara accepts Naruto's invitation to retrieve Sasuke from Otogakure, fate is flirting with destiny. NaruSasuGaara
1. Prologue Chapter 1

**WHEN THE SAND CRUMBLES**

Redcloudangel

**DISCLAIMER**: I do not own Naruto or its characters (applied to all chapters)

**GENRE**: Romance, Adventure/Action, Light Humor, Light Angst

**WARNING**: Spoilers, Shounen Ai, perverted jutsus and cursed seals.

**_Bold italics:_** letter (this chapter)

_Italics: _flashback, emphasis

'_Single quotation italics'_: thought

"Double quotation": speech

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

**PROLOGUE **

**-**

_**Dear Gaara Sama,**_

_**The rescue was a failure. He has become inhumanly strong. **_

_**Time is running out. The Elders are disturbingly concerned. In about three months, Orochimaru will take over his body. Everyone worries that after this 'take over', the Snake Nin will lead another attack on Konoha. The merge represents a serious threat to our village, menacing international peace. It is unconceivable what will happen if the last Sharingan falls into the hands of Orochimaru. **_

_**Konoha is determined to prevent the merge at whatever costs, including killing him. He's now officially declared a missing nin and in unprecedented danger. Tsunade will not let me go after him anymore. They are not giving him another chance. They are not giving me another chance.**_

_**I feel like such a loser, like what he used to call me. I cannot protect the person who is most precious to me. He is the one from whom his acknowledgement I am seeking. He is the one I admire most. I trained so hard. Yet I have not been able to convince him or take him back. The thoughts of losing him is like being stabbed by a thousand kunais, with each cut leaving a deeper scar of desperation.**_

_**I am not giving up on him. Never. I will save him with or without Konoha's support. **_

_**The only support I need is you. **_

_**Since Akatsuki extracted out Shukaku, you have trained hard and become so powerful. I believe if my new techniques are backed by your formidable sand jutsus, we will be unstoppable. **_

_**I know I am asking a lot. You are the only one I can trust. You are my only chance.**_

_**Gaara, will you join me to retrieve him? **_

_**Uzumaki Naruto**_

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Gaara wrinkled the letter in his hand.

'_Him him him him him. Is Naruto insane? NO! Why should I save that little unappreciative bastard who really deserves to die? He's selfish, ego centric, arrogant, hateful, blind and full of bull. He betrayed his own village and voluntarily sold his soul to the devil for power. And, he almost killed Naruto!'_

Gaara let out a "Hnrh."

'_If I could, I would tear him into pieces, suck up his blood and rape him a thousand times.' _

Gaara let out another "Hnrh."

It was quite a few years ago when Gaara first met 'him' at the Chunin Exam. The raven haired boy was aloofly sitting on a tree branch, half bored half entertained with a confrontation between Naruto and Kankuro a short distance away. His slender fingers were playing with a couple small rocks. Suddenly, a deadly glare was shot at Gaara's direction. Gaara's heart skipped a beat. He did not expect meeting such beautiful bloodthirsty eyes. The charcoal orbs were as deep as the galaxy, sparkled with immersed murderous intent resembling Gaara's own.

"_You, what's your name?"_

"_Me?" Temari turned around, face flushing with a light shade of red._

"_No. The one with the gourd."_

"_Gaara of the Desert." Gaara said. "I am curious of yours."_

"_Uchiha Sasuke."_

A gust of wind current emerged in, encircled the young ninjas with strange aurora. Leaves and sand were mingling and kissing in the air. It was like time rolling back to the formation of the universe where they knew each other. Where basic instincts equaled survival.

Their bloodthirsty eyes shamelessly assaulted each other, scrutinized each other and caressed each other. Gaara's blood was boiling, drowning in its intensity. Instantly, he became obsessed with the dark haired avenger. He achingly desired the Uchiha blood to confirm his existence. He wanted so much to spill it, smear it, and bathe in it.

He wanted to kill. He lived to kill.

"Uchiha Sasuke…" Gaara shattered the letter into tiny particles.

To a certain extent, Gaara envied the Uchiha heir. Everyone in Konoha looked up to him, loved him, and admired him. And, the Sharingan prodigy was his Naruto's _most_ precious person. Gaara wanted to be Naruto's most precious person.

Gaara threw the shattered letter into the air, which self-destructed with sparkling flames.

Emerald eyes were dazed with amusement. The extinguishing letter was just like Sasuke burning off his life, self destructive, sparkling and evaporating.

Why? Gaara could not understand. Sasuke got the whole world on top of him, well loved and admired by all. Why would he forgo love and seek hatred?

He raised his hand in front of his chest, molding chakra towards the diminishing flames. The faded flames were revived and once again daringly blinking in the air.

He could save _him_, or he could let _him_ evaporate.

If he saved _him_, he would be desperate. If he let _him_ evaporate, Naruto would be desperate.

_**He is the one I admire most. The thought of losing him is like being stabbed by a thousand kunais, with each cut leaving a deeper scar of desperation.**_

Uzumaki Naruto…

Gaara first met Naruto at the Chunin exam as well. The hyper ninja got lovely blue eyes like the clear sky and golden hair like the sunshine. Somehow Naruto was transparent during Gaara's earlier encounters.

"_You must be dying to learn my name." Said Naruto._

"_I could have care less." Said Gaara._

Naruto turned out to be Gaara's guardian angel. Despite being a demon vessel and living a lonely childhood like Gaara, Naruto always radiated the brightest energy of life. The red hair Kazekage recalled how Naruto interrupted his fight with Sasuke when he was launching a fatal strike, changing forever his life. Naruto showed Gaara one could become strong because he had important people to protect.

Naruto saved Gaara the second time when Akatsuki captured him, extracted Shukaku and sucked out his life force. Naruto refused to give up on him. Gaara was one of Naruto's precious persons, maybe just not as precious as Sasuke. Gaara gave out a small sigh.

The gratitude that Gaara harbored for Naruto overtime turned into admiration. Gaara never had the courage to confess his feelings. It was quite obvious that his crush had this apparent obsession over a certain raven haired avenger.

'_Damn Uchiha. I should have killed you at the chunin exam.' _Gaara pinched the shattered flames of the letter with his fingers.

Since the raven haired beauty left Honoha to seek ultimate power, Gaara had been visiting Konoha on occasions, to strengthen diplomatic relations, and to enjoy Naruto's companionship. The subjects of their conversations were unfortunately limited. All Naruto could talk about was Sasuke. All he wanted was Sasuke.

'_I wish Itachi didn't leave a survivor.' _He extinguished the last sparkle from the letter, slightly taken back by his own dark thoughts.

Gaara's lips graced up slightly. Naruto acknowledged him. **_Since Akatsuki extracted out Shukaku, you have trained hard and become so powerful. _**Gaara indeed had become quite powerful, as what one could expect from a kazekage. He even helped Naruto with the Hydro Chamber Jutsu, which was precisely calculated to defeat the Sharingan prodogy.

Although the Uchiha was not one of his precious persons, he definitely was one of the most precious opponents. With his speed, power, grace, intensity and fame (or flame), defeating the mighty Sasuke would be wholly gratifying.

Gaara had the image of a beautiful raven haired boy trapped in his new sand jutsus, crying to be set free.

"Shit!" That thought turned him on. Kazekage was not into bondage stuff!

"Damn Uchiha!" His pants were getting tight. _'Think think... Think.'_

_**You are the only one I can trust. You are my only chance.**_

Gaara was all melted. How could he decline Naruto's request? How could he pass the opportunity to trounce Sasuke? Gaara knew Naruto was determined to revisit Otogakure, with or without Konoha's support, with or without his support.

'_I will do anything for Naruto, including saving the fucking bastard, although,' _Gaara's smirk turned malicious, _'I cannot guarantee absence of accidental fatal assaults.'_

Another hand sign, the letter that was once evaporated in the air reappeared in his hand. Gaara read it one more time as he walked towards his desk.

_**Gaara, will you join me to retrieve him? **_

After gently setting the letter on his desk, Gaara picked up a pen to write out his response.

-

_**To Be Continued**_

_**-**_

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**A/N: Next chapter we should see Sasuke and have the fateful confrontation. Any constructive criticisms or suggestions?**

**Hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reading and reviewing.**

-

**REVIEW COMMENTS: I'm thinking this is a good place for it since future readers may have similar questions. Thank you for taking the time to review this story. _"It is readers that create the writer."_ I really appreciate it. **

**Kita.Ky0ko **– Wow, my first reviewer. Thank you for giving this story a chance and saying that you will read the story regardless of the pairing. Thank you so very much.

**Sabaku no Emi **– I'm glad you like it so far. Thanks for your kind words and I'll do my best.

**ching1** – Yes GaaraSasu. Thanks for your review. ItaSasu is one of my all time favorites. You'll enjoy the star guest in chapter two. Smiles.

**Kawaii-Aikurushii-Kitsune **– Thank you for being the first one to put this story in a C2. Gaara Sasu Naru all have a dominant role in this story. They are my top five anime characters in Naruto.

**demonreflections **– Thank you so much for your elaborate comments. Gaara rules in this story, most of the time. Smiles.

**CherryStar **– I'm glad you like this story. Thanks for the review.

**BlackChaosMelvin** –I'm glad you like the story and put it in your faves list. Thanks you for the review.

**xxkunoichixx** – Thanks. Another confrontation is coming up. Hope you like it.

**Red.C.Demon** – There will be GaaNaru moments too. Thanks.

**hernameisnobody **– I like to experiment on things and glad that you like the set up. Thanks for your compliment.

**DeViLBOY **– Very interesting review. Okay, challenge accepted. I'll do my best to balance romance and action. Thanks for the review and the challenge.

**Fading Fantasies **– I'm glad you enjoyed reading this chapter. I hope you enjoy future chapters as well.

**dorogon **– Thanks for your review. It got cut off so I did not get what it meant to say.

**Midnight Fallacy** – Thanks for the kind comments. It made me blush.

**blisblop **– I certainly will take your suggestion to keep Gaara's pants tight. It may take a couple more chapters to get the to the actions. Thanks for the review. smiles

**SasukeReflection **– My grammar and spellings are not that great. Every time I review my work I usually find something not quite right. Please do let me know and I'll go back to correct the mistakes. Thank you for your constructive criticism and saying it in such a nice way.

**Aveda** – You wanted bondage? Let me see if will fit into this story or not, maybe in the later chapters. That little bit of tension was intentional. Smiles.

**Mirandaylau** – About Sasuke's cursed seal info, I have taken it out from my profile. That might give away the story too much. Thanks for your input and the review.

**silent.thunders** – Writing is an artistic form of expression for me. I'm glad you liked the subtle messages I tried to incorporate through the letter. Thanks for the review.


	2. Foolish Little Brother

**THE SAND CRUMBLES**

**Chapter Two**

**Mission Part I: Foolish Little Brother**

-

_**In Otogakure (Sound)**_

A mere sliver of light was radiating down from the sky, with its rays decorated by the paranormal twinkle of a thousand stars. The luminescent blanketed the Sound village with ethereal glow that made the deserted land seem otherworldly. Gaara, snuggling next to his blond mission partner, adjusted himself between the screens of leaves. He stole a glance at his mission partner; clear sapphire eyes were holding sparkles of hopefulness that seemed to light the blonde's entire being up from the inside. Naruto had his arms slightly folded above a tree branch with his gaze fixed on the spring water below him, as though he had never moved or blinked.

Bringing his gaze back to the bubbling spring water, Gaara was still amused at his being in Oto with Naruto. Simply, he came because this mission was important to his Naruto…. because Sasuke was important to Naruto. He closed his eyes for a brief moment. As the leader of Suna, he was well aware of the consequences what his actions might produce. At the thought of his beloved, all seemed insignificant.

"Sasuke's scent… Sasuke's Chakra…" Naruto whispered.

Gaara twisted his transparent eyebrows. The blonde's ability to pick up the avenger's scent and chakra miles away simply amazed him. Gaara had not sensed the approach of anyone, and having hosted Shukaku for the years, he prided himself in chakra signature recognition. He wondered whether that was the fox demon's unique ability or its host's particular tuning of a certain raven-haired shinobi.

A warm pine scented draft gently swayed the landscape. Gaara faintly detected the scent that could only be from a ninja of the Leaf, the scent of the leaves, the forest, the scent of an Uchiha. He could also faintly feel the unmasked chakra that was raw, primal, and irresistibly overwhelming. Gaara inhaled deeply as another heavenly scented draft swaying his direction.

'_It has been three years…and I almost miss it…' _All of a sudden, Gaara realized that he was anticipating seeing Sasuke, he wanted to see Sasuke.

"This has been his favorite spot spending time alone outside of his headquarter," whispered Naruto.

Gaara nodded. Hiraishin no Jutsu (1) allowed Naruto to be teleported to Otogakure with ease, and to spy on his raven-haired buddy at his leisure, another secret that Naruto had been hiding from Konoha.

"He will stay in the spring for about 20-30 minutes. Sometimes, he trains a little bit. He has developed the liking of killing trees and blowing bubbles." A content smile vaguely embraced the blonde's supple lips. "So predictable."

"Um. You enjoy the scene?" That contentment did not escape Kazekage's sharp eyes.

Naruto grinned, "Yeap. You bet. He seems so vulnerable and surreal."

"A vulnerable Sasuke, interesting." A vague sentiment of jealousy seeped in, and immediately left without a trace as Gaara allowed his imagination to wander.

'_That freaking genius cannot detect Naruto's presence. Very interesting.' _

This confirmed Naruto in fact had completely mastered chakra nature manipulation and could seal his, and in this case Gaara's presence perfectly. In a mere few months, Naruto' had made astonishing progress, surpassed all known ninjas Gaara was aware of, all thank to the desperation of saving someone… precious. Gaara silently let out a 'hnrp.'

He stole a glance over his shoulder to check on the chakra master, who seemed focused, determined and… strong. Gaara wondered how Naruto could have been defeated three times by Sasuke while he almost killed the traitor himself at the chinnin exam. '_How strong is Sasuke?'_

_(He has become inhumanly strong.… ) _

'_Who really is the vulnerable one here?' _Gaara Wondered.

"Gotta run! I have to get ready for the big date!" Naruto put his hand on Gaara's shoulder and gave it an uncharacteristic warm squeeze, sapphire eyes radiating faith and resolution. The blonde withdrew his hand slowly and grinned.

"Be gentle with your sand jutsus."

Gaara waived and gave his companion an assuring nod. The blonde shinobi vanished without rattling a single leaf. Emerald eyes continued to trail and ponder with confusion.

'_Gentle? Didn't he say he was to drag the traitor back even if he would have to break every bone of his?'_

A powerful enthralling aura interrupted his thoughts. _'It's him_.' Gaara took in a silent breath. The Uchiha heir was already in the bubbling spring with his cloths and Kusanagi (2) next to the water.

'_That was… Fast.' _Gaara was hoping to see Sasuke na... '_Pervert….' _He mentally smacked himself, without diverting his intense gaze from the surreal image in front of him.

Surreal… Sasuke had his eyes closed, head slightly tilted towards the moon, as if inviting the ghost-like lunar to unwind his day. Taking upon the raven-haired beauty's invitation, lunar shadows fluttered about the spiky hair like licking flames, mimicking movements of leaves and glasses. Untamed hair was about the same length Gaara last remembered, falling over a graceful forehead and elegant eyebrows. His porcelain skin seemed to have absorbed the moonlight and reflected the silvery glow back at the world. Floral scented breeze quietly joined in to caress the flawless visage and gently lifted up long lush lashes, slowly revealing a pair of the darkest bottomless eyes that one could never have forgotten.

'_His eyes…'_ Gaara gulped. Under the genjutsu of the moonlight, the Sharingan prodigy seemed deceitfully delicate, deceitfully serene, and _delightfully_ vulnerable.

Surreal… Gaara took in Sasuke's appearance, feeling somewhat stunned. If Sasuke was beautiful back then, he _is_ exquisite now. Gaara was holding his breath still.

With a few rings of ripples, the god-like prodigy submerged underneath the water. To Kazekage's amusement, the surreal genius was blowing bubbles, a lot of bubbles. The bubbles rose up above the water and were floating in the air, each one painted a unique color. Sasuke came up for air. His pale skin was tinted a shade of alluring pink from the embracing warmth. He went under the water again. More bubbles.

The thin lips of Kazekage graced up bit by bit, _'Otogakure must be a very boring place.'_

Showered with unidentified excitement, Gaara unconsciously leaned forward. Sasuke resurfaced. Pale fingers gracefully swayed the black locks to the back, allowing curious eyes better access of a perfectly sculpted visage. Droplets of water were clinging on delicate jaw line, on his thin nose, and on his sensuous lips which Gaara… cough cough… which, any teenage boy or girl would want to swoon over. The cursed seal was the only mark that marred the flawless porcelain skin.

Gaara's breath was catching painfully in his throat. As if he was reliving his bloodthirsty days, he had the sudden urge to bite into and ripe off that unsightly cursed mark on silvery milky flesh. And-d… And-d… And-d...

And the pool continued to display colorful bubbles as usual…

"Sasuke kun, this works very well with the minerals of the spring water. It will stimulate your chakra and reflex system."

Gaara silently cursed himself for getting so distracted … he meant, so focused that he was not aware of Kabuto's presence. He noticed he was still holding his breath, heart pounding fast and loud. _'What's this!?'_

"This is the new and improved formula for ultimate performance." After proudly announcing his accomplishment, the silver haired med nin poured some greenish liquid into the water. Seconds later, red bubbles surfaced along with ruthless steams.

"Orochimaru Sama does not want you to stay out for too long."

'_Get lost or I'm going bury you alive!' _Gaara was getting impatient for no apparent reasons.

Sasuke looked to the side, still void of emotion.

"We heard that Akatsuki is on the move again."

"You may leave."

Gaara shivered at the sheer magnetism in that voice that was cool and impassive, yet as smooth as dark bittersweet coffee. And he swore he saw black orbs bred red for a split second, reflecting off three different shades of sunset scarlet.

As Kabuto's statement failed to illicit any reaction from the Sharingan prodigy and being totally ignored, he turned on his heels, "Their target's the kyubii boy who happens to have visited us twice already in the past three months."

Just as Kabuto was a distance away, Sasuke turned to catch a glimpse of his Sound colleague's retreating back. The last floating bubble dispersed right at the center of Kabuto's back. Slander hands emerged from water surface with a series of hand seals: _Monkey. Tiger. Boar. Rooster. Horse…_

"Water Element: Water Dragon Jutsu!!"

At command, a pair of miniature red water dragons splashed out from the spring water surface roaring into the sky heading the med nin's direction. After a short distance of travel and as the white-haired shinobi paused a step, the mini dragons quickly turned and danced back to their master, playfully splashing each other on their way. Reflection of orange and red were tingling on the blue scales of the dragons.

Without warning, dragons shot up the sky; fire was shot out from their mouth shooting toward Kabuto's retreating back. Kabuto paused another half of a step, studying the reflections on his glasses. The dragons were then shooting fire at each other, fiercely attacking each other, while the avenger had turned his head looking at the twinkling stars in the sky. The med nin shaked his head however slightly and teleported himself way, while Gaara inquisitively examined the perfect profile of the avenger.

'_Combining water jutsu with the fire element, that demands exceptional chakra manipulation. It should be interesting to see how it plays against Naruto's wind chakra jutsus.'_

At this precise moment, a faint trace of familiar chakra flew through the forest. Before a blink of an eye, the Uchiha heir was already out of the water, blurred with the wind and gone with his kimono and Kusanagi. Dragons dispersed into red rain, spraying its surrounding with alluring mist.

The handsome features of Kagekage were graced with a smile, as this time around, emerald eyes did catch a glimpse of the lovely contour of the prodigy's naked glory.

- - -

_**Konoha (Leaf)**_

The silver-haired Jounin had said a few words since he stepped into Hokage's office. Sitting across from the 5th's redwood desk, Kakashi gazed through the window at the Hokage Mountain. His opinion was ignored by the Elders at the Council's meeting. Further, they wanted him to be the one to lead the execution mission. Admittedly, despite of all the training to be a renowned ninja, he succeeded only the technical part and failed miserably the emotional part. Team seven was the first and only team he had passed and trained, which over time had become his family.

"I know this mission will be difficult for you. Not technically, as you have accomplished more dangerous missions and faced more formidable opponents. Uchiha Sasuke, however, is your student, one of your favorites as well." The blonde haired Hokage paused for a moment. "You two are a lot alike, being one of the most talented and a Sharingan, Chidori user. That makes you the most equipped and appropriate person to lead this mission."

Kakashi chucked bitterly as he did not see why that would make him the most appropriate person for the mission.

"Itachi planted the seed of darkness in him, and I regret I have not been able to prevent it from germinating." Refusing to fake lightheartedness, Kakashi gave out a small sigh.

Tsunade glanced over to Jiraiya who was leaning against the wall next to the window.

"Don't be too hard on yourself. He has the heart of an avenger." Jiraiya walked back and sat on his chair.

Kakashi inhaled slowly, "It was Orochimaru's cursed seal that manipulated his dark emotions."

Jiraiya spun his chair towards the masked Jounin. "He and Orochimaru are the same, hungry for power and will do whatever it takes to get it. We made the mistake on Orochimaru. We are not going to make the same mistake on Sasuke!"

"Sasuke's different from Orochimaru," Kakashi spat, "The boy may lust power. Fundamentally he's not evil, while Orochimaru indisputably is." Kakashi knew he hit a sore spot.

Jiraiya's eyes darkened. A brief moment of silence elapsed.

"I was there before. I wanted so much to believe that Orochimaru was temporarily blinded by thirst for power, that he was fundamentally good, that he would come back. And I was wrong."

Tsunade nodded, "This is not about Sasuke or Team Seven anymore. It's about the future of our village..."

"You know, you don't need to convince me. I gladly accept the mission." Kakashi looked away to the side, "To say Sasuke was without fault would be a blatant lie."

Tsunade lent a sympathetic smile, and stopped Jiraiya when he was about to inject a comment.

"Sasuke _is_ my student and therefore my responsibility." Kakashi stated evenly as a matter of fact. "Although I have not been able to protect him from his downfall, I'll not let anyone walk on his dead body."

"Great. The generals on battlefields are the one who know what the best course of actions to take under the particular circumstances." With faith and a genuine smile, Tsunade handed Kakashi the mission folder. "I trust you with all decisions to complete this mission."

Kakashi accepted the mission folder with a graceful smile behind his mask, "Have you taken an advanced course in leadership or motivational speech?"

Walking out of the Hokage Tower, Kakashi looked up at the sky where Otogakure resided. A mere sliver of light was radiating down from the sky, with its rays decorated by the paranormal twinkle of a thousand stars... He felt a tug in his chest. The pain of losing a precious team member was still fresh, something he had sworn not to allow repeating within his existence.

- - -

_**Sunagakure (Sand)**_

Temari had a pile of documents on her desk, or more precisely, Gaara's desk, that required reading and approval. Kankuro was flipping his pen around his fingers.

"What's going on? Kazekage on sabbatical leave." Temari put down her paper and pen, and stopped her brother from twirling his pen.

"He doesn't even tell us where he's going. Gaara owes us big time." Kankuro put his pen in his puppet's mouth.

"Kankuro, have you noticed Gaara has been acting strange in the past few days? I haven't seen him this tense for a while."

"If I didn't not know better, I would say Shukaku has returned. He has been moody and not sleeping again."

"He simply works too hard these days. I suppose a vacation's good for him." Tamari said as she signed another scroll in Gaara's absence.

"Look at this one from Konoha." The blonde haired shinobi bounced up with enthusiasm, handed a scroll to Kankuro. "Uchiha Sasuke has been declared a rouge nin, a new member to the official Bingo Book."

Kankuro studied the scroll with interest, "wow, finally. If he comes here, I'll make a puppet out of him."

"You are so gay. So you would have wet dreams every night?"

"That's not funny. First of all, I'm not gay. Second, speak for yourself. Remember you flushed like a tomato when you first saw him…Ouch!" Temari struck Kankuro with her fan.

"Seriously, if he comes here Gaara will tear him apart, he was the first one who draw blood out of our mighty brother."

"Maybe Gaara's on a secret mission to seek him out before he's swallowed by the snake, so that he can swallow him himself... Ouch!"

- - -

_**Otogakure (Sound)**_

Like silent thunders striking the ground, Sasuke flashed from darkness in front of two figures in Akatsuki red cloud uniform; shurikens were shot out with pinpoint precision. The red cloud figures jumped back good thirty feet. Shurikens turned into fire-wheels following the cloaked figures. One swift block, fire wheels reversed their course spinning towards the younger Uchiha, who bounced into air and retrieved the flaming shurikens with bare hands.

'Itachi!' Sasuke spat out frigidly.

"Your little brother, Itachi kun," commented the tall shark man.

"Otouto, how have you been?" The long hair cloaked figure greeted.

"Put the dobe down now!" Sasuke looked at the look-alike shinobi indifferently, getting into a fighting stance.

"Otouto, you care for him?"

"How can you fight when you have an appendage on your shoulder?"

"Do you care for him?"

"No." Sasuke said coldly, voice devoid of emotions.

'_That hurts.' _Gaara thought, unsure if he should feel sorry for his blonde mission partner.

"The only person I care about is YOU." In slow motion, Sasuke's hand moved towards his Kusanagi. "And the only way I care about you is how you should die!"

Before he finished his sentence, the sword was out zeroing up the distance with its targets, slicing through two cloaked figures and the appendage.

A few loud pops, all that left was a thin trace of smoke.

"Sasuke…" Naruto came up from behind, holding a kunai on Sasuke's neck.

"Konoha's number one surprising ninja!"

"When did you find out it was me?" Naruto's voice revealed unrestrained excitement.

"When you opened up your big month, dobe."

The dark hair ex-teammate turned and smirked at Naruto, totally ignoring the kunai on his neck.

"You can't fake Sharingan."

Seeing blood on Sasuke's neck and the trademark smirk, and being a mere inches away from his ex-teammate, Naruto was somewhat taken back. Kunai was retreating on its own.

"Sasuke teme…" Blue eyes were flooded with emotions.

Swift palm pressed on firm chest, Naruto was sent flying across the landscape, breaking everything on his way, and smashed against a large tree.

"Stay out of this!" seethed the dark haired avenger.

A black blur span in the air from nowhere and snatched up the descending blonde shinobi...

"Weakling."

Leaves were falling from the sky in still motion. Red clouds were swaying in stormy black. Silky long black hair was spinning in the air on a dragon ride. The slender form elegantly ascended, descended and brushed sandals on the surface of a high tree branch.

Shade by shade, frame-by-frame, and flash-by-flash, the finest cold-blooded features of an aristocrat came under the scrutiny of the Sharingan.

"Itachi?"

Sharingan met Sharingan. Black orbs bred blood red crimson. Thousand images flashed back. Sasuke's blood heated up instantly.

"Foolish little brother!" Cool husky voice chilled the atmosphere. A stoic figure stood with an innate arrogance, impassively looking down at his younger brother.

"Your time's up! Uchiha Itachi!"

A thunderous scowl came onto the younger Uchiha's features, his hand drawing the Kusanagi from his back and holding it in a reverse grip. He charged, vanished, and reappeared to finish a deathblow to the elder Uchiha. A five-mile radius was caught on fire where the Kusanagi was swung.

"Ototo, why killed trees?"

"What?" Itachi stood on a burned branch a mere few feet away above him.

"Why killed Naruto?"

"Save your breath, Aniki!" Sasuke seethed with seals under formation: Tiger. Monkey. Dragon, Boar. Rooster. Horse…

"Die!" The hatred was so deep that it pushed aside all the other emotions flashing through him. Purple chakra was flowing from the seal while earth was shifting and shaking.

"Hn, resorting to suicidal techniques already, you are weak." Itachi vanished along with Naruto. "Although you might not mind hurting your little friend, I do."

'_Damnit!' _Grimacing, forbidden jutsu was aborted and frustration deepened. _'How can that be? I can't see them with my Sharingan!'_

He redirected his chakra and faintly located the familiar chakra signatures of his brother and ex-teammate that were moving at a speed much faster than he could remember. Sasuke sped towards the signatures and thundered through brushes, trees, forests, sand dunes, and mountains like lightning.

All of a sudden, a third chakra signature invaded his senses seeking a dominant presence. Vaguely, he heard water running in a distance. Instincts put him on high alerts. Filtered out blinded emotions, he quickly recomposed himself as situations like this demanded a clear and calm mind.

'_Gaara of the Desert?'_

Soon enough, the raven-haired avenger was hundreds of miles away from his Sound master Orochimaru. He came to a waterfall, the designated battlefield.

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A/N: (1) Hiraishin no Jutsu, 飛雷神の術, literally "Flying Thunder God Technique." The jutsu of the Fourth Hokage and the reason behind his nickname "The Yellow Flash of Konoha." This jutsu allows the user to move over large distances with ultra-high speed. To activate this jutsu, the user needs a special seal or "Jutsu-shiki" to mark the destination. After this is done, the user can almost instantaneously transport himself to the location of the Jutsu-shiki. It is one of the few only known non-Kekkei-Genkai techniques created that the Sharingan/Byakugan cannot follow.

(2) Kusanagi - In ancient Japanese, kusa means "sword" and nagi means "snake." Thus Kusanagi means "sword of the snake." In battle, the sword can cut through nearly anything. Orochimaru can move and control the sword even if he's not touching it.

**Ch.2 Review comments: **Thank you so much for giving this story a chance. You guys/gils really rock.

**Fading Fantasies**: I'm a big time Sasuke fan as well. He's not the easiest character to write though but it was definitely fun writing him in this chapter.

**Red.C.Demon**: I like your definition of trouble already, and you'll find out soon enough, I hope, who's in bigger trouble. Don't worry I plan to include Itachi. Did I tell you that I'm a big time Itachi fan too?

**Kawaii-Aikurushii-Kitsune**: The real fight, oh… well… it's coming…. Please do let me know what you think as this will be my first 'real' one. Thanks. Smiles.

**Kita.ky0ko**: I'm glad you liked the chapter. Thanks. What will Sasuke do next? Hn, he probably will not go back willingly… Maybe another fight?

**Fantasyfangirl**: Tsunade did send Kakashi to kill Sasuke. It was the Elders' decision, and a perfect excuse for Naruto's secret mission, wasn't it?

**ching1**: You always leave the most flattering reviews. Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. Apparently, Gaara found Sasuke beautiful. I like your word 'Infatuation.' See, I love reading the audience's interpretation. Thanks.

**DeViLB0Y**: Rush? I actually spent a lot of time writing the 'mini fighting scenes.' I'm just not that good at it. Now I'm working on this big fight that you've requested. Thanks for adding this story to your favorites. So, it didn't suck too badly? (Evil grins.)

**Twizzlerzaregoodcuztheyrecandi**: It took me a couple seconds to figure out you pen name and I think I won't forget that. Yes I do have the tendency to keep you guys in suspense but usually leave no terrible cliffy. Smiles.

**BlueSharingan**: Luring Sasuke away from Oro should certainly ensure a better chance of a successful mission. I figure the mature Naruto should be able to figure that out. Thanks for your comments.

**CherryStar120**: Yeah! I got a compliment on my fighting scene, and the pool scene as well! They were both very fun to write. I'm glad that you found Sasuke gorgeous and Gaara pervertedly lovely. I feel the same.

**hernameisnobody**: Sometimes it seems like I don't know where this story is heading. I kinda have an idea.

**Lyi**: Such compliment. Thank you so much. From your brief comment, I know I like your writing style too. I hope you'll write a Naruto fic one of these days and I'd love be the first one to read it.

**silent.thunders**: "the most beautiful murderer description." Wow, you've made my day. Thanks.

**Midnight Fallacy**: Your comment made me blush. Thanks.

**Demonreflections**: You're right Sasuke is so blind when it comes to Itachi. That was why Itachi was a part of Naruto's mission. So you want to see Gaara kick ass? Okay…

**Ky0Kichi**: Thank you for your kind words. It's usually the details that make a story interesting. And the fight… I hope you'll find it interesting. (smiles) By the way, I remember reading a very well written NejiSasu fic of yours.

**Mizuki hikari**: continue… yep.

**Serenitysama**: Thanks for your kind words. The battle that makes the sand crumbles, I wonder what you had in mind. (Grin.)

**MirandaLau**: See, I do update. I'm a slow writer. Smiles.

**Xxkunoichi**: Action actions and real actions, I assure you'll see both somewhere somehow in this story. Just hang on.

**dreamed**: I feel the same about Naruto. I like him strong and smart than just a loud mouth. He's one of the strongest characters in this fic. I think Kishi means to make him the strongest shinobi so I'm being faithful to the original.

**M'intrigue**: Wow, French, my first foreign language review! Merci beaucoup mon amie. Je t'amie! (Am I saying it correctly?)

**Hello Mitty**: Cool. Come back soon!

**Sunset Serenity**: I'm glad you found the story awesome and cute. Thank you for your patience. Hang on with me. I'm rewriting chapter 3.

**ntbranyan**: I'll take chapter 3 out and repost it when it's complete. Thank you so much for your elaborated comments and words of encouragement.


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